Codestone Hunters: Beginnings
by Sendriye
Summary: A girl named Grath is happy to be getting her new Pteri. Evyynn, her Gelert, reveals the story her sister Sendriye has been wanting to hear for a while. And thus, the Codestone Hunting begins.


Codestone Hunters: Beginnings  
  
By: lost_desert_fan  
  
The fire in the fireplace cackled merrily. A small Green Gelert sat curled in a girl's arms, who was sitting next to the fire in a large armchair. A desert Lupe sat next to her, watching keenly. The Gelert opened her eyes.  
  
"I know that you're going to get a new pet," the Gelert muttered, looking up at the girl, who stroked the Gelert. The girl nodded.  
  
"Yeah," the girl muttered. "It might help us in our search."  
  
"What search?" the Lupe asked, being new to the family.  
  
"It's kind of a long story," the Gelert muttered, closing her eyes again. "Err. we'll tell you once Grath gets that new pet," the Gelert continued, looking up at the girl.  
  
~~~  
  
The Lupe tapped an egg with her paw. "What exactly will you get?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Grath answered, looking at a section of eggs labeled 'Aishas'. "But it'll have to be something unique- even though every Neopet is."  
  
"How about a Pteri?" the Lupe suggested, picking up a small green egg. "There aren't enough Pteris in Neopia."  
  
"Yeah. You're right, Sendriye," the Gelert looked at the egg, taking it from the Lupe addressed as Sendriye. "There really aren't enough. I checked the statistics this morning. The Pteri is number 29 on the list."  
  
"Why do you constantly check that list, Evyynn?" Grath asked as the Gelert handed the egg to her.  
  
"Because," Ev shrugged, "I knew eventually you'd get another one. We need more than three searchers."  
  
"I'm not even going to ask now," Sen rolled her eyes. "Hey Rose."  
  
A pink Uni walked over to the trio. "Yes?" she asked, peering at the egg in Grath's hands. "I'm guessing you chose a pet.?" Rose smiled.  
  
"Yeah. It's a Pteri," Grath answered, looking around.  
  
"Let me go get the papers." Rose walked away, looking under her desk for a certificate. "Now, what will you be naming it?" Rose asked, clicking a pen when she returned.  
  
"Umm. Likte," Grath looked down at the egg. "And I'm pretty sure that he'll be green."  
  
"Ok," Rose scribbled down a few things. "Your name and/or username?"  
  
"Grath Longfletch. or _grathlongfletch_."  
  
"Ok," Rose handed the slip of paper to Grath. "Just wait for about an hour or two, and-"  
  
"Yes, yes, I know." Grath sighed, handing the egg to Ev. She took off her coat, and wrapped the egg in it. Sendriye grabbed the piece of paper, slipping it into a folder. "Thanks," Sen smiled, walking out of the adoption agency after Grath and Evyynn.  
  
~~~  
  
Grath placed the wrapped egg on the kitchen table. "Hmm," was the only thing her mouth uttered.  
  
Ev looked at the egg as it shuddered silently. "It looks like it's about to hatch."  
  
"Yeah," Sen prodded it gently with her paw. It shuddered violently this time, and a large crack formed on the shell. "Hey! It's hatching!"  
  
A beak emerged from the crack. It chipped away the shell it was incased in, and a small, green Pteri hopped out. It ruffled its wings, shell flying everywhere in the kitchen.  
  
"Oy! Grath!" Ev shouted, tapping her owner's shoulder with a paw. "It has hatched," Ev continued, looking towards the Pteri.  
  
"Hey there, little fella." Grath put a finger in front of the small Pteri, smiling.  
  
The Pteri blinked and grabbing Grath's hand with his beak lightly. Grath continued smiling, as Likte looked around at his surroundings. Sen walked over slowly, the Pteri grabbing her muzzle with his wings when she tried to look at him closely. Sen grinned as well, and picked up the Pteri gently to show her sister.  
  
"Oy, Ev, meet your new brother?" Sen snickered, trying to keep a straight face. Ev rolled her eyes, and placed a paw on Likte's head. Likte ruffled his feathers, and curiously stared at the Gelert, who blinked and stared as well.  
  
"This is Evyynn, little bro," Sen grinned again. "She's your oldest sibling. Can you say Evyynn?"  
  
"Eh-eh-eh-vee," the Pteri sounded out, or at least tried to. "Evy!" Likte smiled and ruffled his feathers again.  
  
"Great, I've gone from 'Ev' to 'Evy'," Ev muttered, rolling her eyes again.  
  
Sen elbowed her sister. "Stop rolling your eyes, Ev," Sen patted Likte's head. "I wonder if the Techo Master lets younger pets train. Maybe I can pull a few strings so that this little guy can defend himself."  
  
"Good idea," Grath smiled. "It'll come in handy if he's quick when we're searching."  
  
"Stop saying all this stuff about searching!" Sen shouted, walking out the front door. "Tell us when we get back!" Sen called out, still holding Likte in her arms to go to Mystery Island.  
  
~~~  
  
"Sendriye," a red Nimmo walked through the doorway of the Training School. He bowed, and motioned for the Desert Lupe to come in. "The Techo Master has been expecting you and your young companion."  
  
"My 'young companion' is actually my little brother, Ryshu," Sen explained to the Nimmo. "His name is Likte."  
  
"Well, young Likte," Ryshu crouched down to Likte's eye level. "May your training with the Techo Master go well." With that, Ryshu bowed again, and walked off to train on the beach.  
  
"Sendriye and young Likte," a sharp voice came from within the room. Sen placed the Pteri on the floor and bowed as an aged but wise looking Green Techo walked through the doorway. The Techo returned the bow, and Sen stood up.  
  
"Good afternoon, Sensei. I came here because-" Sen spoke quickly, but the Techo Master held up a paw in silence.  
  
"Yes, yes, I know, Sendriye," the Techo Master nodded slowly. "You have brought young Likte here to go under my training. I am sure you have brought a Codestone for him and yourself?"  
  
Sen pulled out a small rock, with a strange symbol on its surface. The Techo Master examined it, nodded, and watched Sen pull out another one, with a different symbol on it.  
  
"An Eo for you and a Lu for the young one," the Techo Master nodded again. "Shall you accompany us?" Sen nodded quickly, as Likte tried to reach for the Lu Codestone in the Techo Master's grasp. "No, young one," the Techo Master shook a finger at the Pteri.  
  
"Oh yes," the Techo Master added, handing a scroll to Sen. "After you and your brother finish training, please give this to young Evyynn and your owner, Grath Longfletch. I am sure they will find it useful in their quest."  
  
"Excuse me, Sensei? Please don't mention their 'quest' or 'search' around me." Sen muttered quietly.  
  
"I will be sure to remember. I am sure that they will tell you once you give them the letter."  
  
"You said it was a scroll."  
  
"It is basically a letter on a scroll."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Now, please be off to your training, Sendriye. I have a few important things to train your brother in."  
  
~~~  
  
"He told me to give this to you," Sen handed the scroll to Grath, who unrolled it. "What is it anyway?"  
  
"A letter." Ev looked away. "Concerning. you know what."  
  
"I guess it's time to tell them," Grath looked at Sen and Likte, who was looking curiously at a pile of codestones.  
  
"Do you want to tell it?" Grath looked at Evyynn. Evyynn shrugged, sighing.  
  
"I guess I have to." Ev cleared her throat, and began. "Oh yes, and it's kind of short." Ev added, blushing. "It's more of like a summary of what happened."  
  
"Stop saying stuff and began!" Sen glared at Ev, and Ev rolled her eyes.  
  
~~~  
  
Grath and I were walking to the Training School for the 5th time that week. She wanted me to battle, but secretly she wanted to train me so that I wouldn't get into fights. If I did, I could actually defend myself.  
  
When we got to the Training School, Ryshu was standing next to the Techo Master in front of the building. Ryshu was staring at the ground, while the Techo Master was patting him on the back and talking quietly with him.  
  
We wandered over, wanting to see what had happened. Since Ryshu was a bit ashamed of himself, the Techo Master told us this.  
  
"Ah, Evyynn, Grath," the Techo Master had said. "Just who we were looking for."  
  
"You were looking for us?" Grath blinked, pointing at herself and than to me. The Techo Master added, continuing.  
  
"A gang of thieves has taken the sacred Codestones of the temple."  
  
"Isn't this a school?" I asked, blinking.  
  
"There's a temple out back," Ryshu said quickly, but fell silent as the Techo Master continued.  
  
"Yes, there is, and inside are the sacred Codestones. Well, inside there were the sacred Codestones."  
  
"What are these sacred Codestones?" I asked.  
  
"They're Codestones," Grath snickered, trying to hide back her laughter. I glared at her.  
  
"Each one was the first Codestone of that type to be found. It is said that the Ancient Guardian of Mystery Island blessed these Codestones. They were scattered across Neopia when the Ancient Guardian had passed on, and a few years back Ryshu and I have found them and returned them to the temple. But without them, Mystery Island will be unbalanced; or possibly Neopia entirely."  
  
"But why do you need us?" Grath blinked, staring at the Techo Master.  
  
"Before we tell you that, we need to show you the temple." Ryshu beckoned to the small temple that was behind the Training School.  
  
"The temple has actually been there since the Ancient Guardian was around. See those markings?" Ryshu pointed to a stone that was stuck in the ground. It had a lot of markings on it, markings similar to the markings on the Codestones.  
  
"After the part about the Ancient Guardian and the early history of Mystery Island, there is something about a sage Green Gelert and a girl with the last name of Longfletch. It then says that they would protect the Codestones from people who wanted to take the Codestones." The Techo Master looked to Ryshu.  
  
"Then it tells of a Desert Lupe with a green ankh and a Green Krawk smaller than the rest. The Krawk used to be a Green Pteri," Ryshu added.  
  
"That half fits us." Grath interrupted. "Evyynn is sage green. My last name is Longfletch. But I don't have a Desert Lupe or a Krawk."  
  
"You eventually will," Ryshu muttered, looking at the holes in the shelves were the Codestones used to be. "The last bit is about the Krawk being the best out of the 4 searchers."  
  
"You must go now," the Techo Master whispered, pointing to the ocean. "You will return in a month and a half with all the searchers. Good luck on your quest."  
  
And with that the Techo Master and Ryshu waved goodbye, then disappeared into the Training School.  
  
~~~  
  
Silence followed Evyynn's story. Sen blinked, then pried Likte off the Codestone pile.  
  
"Well, this'll be interesting," Sen muttered. "How do we know if the Codestone is sacred or something?"  
  
"It says so in this letter," Grath pointed at the scroll Likte was now holding.  
  
Sen tugged the scroll from Likte's grasp, and read out loud:  
  
To Evyynn, Sendriye, Likte, and Grath, the Codestone Hunters:  
  
Thank you for accepting the responsibility of finding the Sacred Codestones. A sign will appear once you find the sacred Codestone of a certain type. I am sorry that such a heavy responsibility will be with you, but the balance of Mystery Island is at stake. The Sacred Codestones have been scattered across Neopia, and you four need to find them. Good luck on your quest.  
  
"The signature is blurred out," Sen pointed to the bottom of the scroll.  
  
"Wait, there's something underneath the blur." Ev pointed beneath the signature.  
  
"P.S. the first one, a Lu, is closer than you think. Hmm. Wonder where that one could be?" Grath read.  
  
Sen pried a Lu Codestone from the grasp of Likte's paws. "Closer than we think?" Sen muttered, staring at the Codestone.  
  
"The first one was easy, The others won't be, Find the next one, The Codestone of Zei."  
  
Grath, Ev, and Sen looked down at Likte, who tried to grab the Lu Codestone from Sen. Likte looked up, smiled, and ruffled his feathers. The Lu Codestone radiated a bright green colour.  
  
"Was it. you?" Ev asked Likte, who looked up again and ruffled his feathers. "I think that's a yes."  
  
"Maybe." Sen thought aloud, but paused and stared at the others.  
  
"Maybe what?" Grath asked, looking at Sen curiously.  
  
"Nothing, nothing." Sen muttered. "We should take this back to the Training School tomorrow."  
  
"I don't think it would safe there," Ev piped in. "If it was stolen there, it wouldn't be safe, would it?" Sen and Grath shook their heads. Likte ruffled his feathers again.  
  
~~~  
  
"Maybe Likte is the Ancient Guardian." Sen whispered to herself after Grath and Ev had left. Likte looked up at her, ruffling his feathers like he always did, and fell asleep on the couch. "Can't be," Sen muttered shortly. She smiled at Likte, and ran off to grab a bite to eat.  
  
Likte woke up suddenly, ruffled his feathers, and muttered, "You are right, Sen., but you will find that out later." Likte ruffled his feathers for the last time, then fell asleep. 


End file.
